Chapter 21 || Stay With Me

Chapter 21

“What are those?” Malia asked immediately when she opened the door.

“They’re...flowers. It’s romantic.” He informed her as he held them out to her.

“Oh yeah, Lydia and Kira were telling me about that. Thank you, Stiles, they’re beautiful.” She gave him a genuine smile and sniffed the flowers, “And they smell amazing”. She opened the door wide for him and he got his first glimpse of her outfit. She was wearing a flowy electric blue dress that went down to her knees. The plunging neckline made it difficult for him to keep his eyes away.

“Wow...Malia you look amazing.” He stammered and she beamed again.

“So do you,” She said taking in his black dress pants and dark red button down shirt. “I’ve never seen you so dressed up.”

“Yeah, I reserve it only for special occasions, which this certainly is.”

“Our first official date.”

“Yep, sorry it took me so long.” He said with a crooked grin, knowing she didn’t really mind. His mom had pointed out to him that he had never actually taken Malia out on a real date. Sure they had seen movies and eaten together, but they had never gone to a nice restaurant and made a big deal about calling it a date. Stiles knew he had to change that. This was both of their first relationships and they both deserved to do it right.

“You don’t need to apologize, you know I don’t care.” She said in her honest way. “I should put these in water right?” She continued before he could respond. He nods at her,

“It keeps them fresher longer.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back” She gives him a smile and walks back into her house, but as she’s walking away he hears her mutter, “They would’ve stay a lot fresher if they were still in the ground.” Stiles felt a ridiculous smile break across his face. Malia could just be so wonderfully refreshing sometimes, she made him question the silly things and focus on the important things. She didn’t need him to bring her flowers to show how much he cared for her, all she needed was him. That was all she expected of him. That being said, as Malia came back into view Stiles vowed to try chocolate next time.

“Ready?” He asked. She nodded in response and hooked her arm in his. He led her to his jeep and they both climbed in. He had picked the restaurant specifically because it had venison. He wasn’t sure how Malia would feel about cooked deer, but since she had made her feelings about deer clear he figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. Who knows, maybe she would end up liking cooked meat better than raw meat.

*****

Malia wanted to punch something or throw up or cry. She didn’t know how to deal with the emotions that were coursing through her body. If she was a coyote still she might go hunting to help with what she was feeling. How did humans handle all of these feelings?

“I can’t find anything!” Lydia said as she slammed her laptop shut. Malia looked at the clock to see that their 48 hours was up.

“We have to head to the loft,” She said, “Maybe someone else found something.”

“Yeah maybe” Lydia murmured as she stood up, but Malia could see the doubt in her eyes. Malia’s stomach was a jumble of knots as they entered the loft. Everyone else was already there and looking pretty glum. Scott cleared his throat as the two girls sat down.

“So, um...I wasn’t able to find any other way to reach Stiles or pull him out of his coma. Did anyone else find anything?” Scott’s announcement was followed by a long and painful silence. Malia looked anxiously around the room, but most people were avoiding eye contact and no one was saying anything. After a moment, it became clear that no one had been able to find anything. “No one?” Scott prodded. A few people shook their heads at this, but everyone still remained silent. The longer the silence stretched the more Malia felt like something was going to burst inside of her. A pressure started in her stomach and spread throughout her entire body until it was all she could do to keep from screaming. Just when Malia felt as if she was reaching her breaking point, Deaton cleared his throat.

“I hate to say it, but I think my plan is our only option.”

“I agree,” Derek said, sitting up straight. “We have to try, Stiles is showing no signs of getting better on his own, we have to do something.”

“Scott? Lydia? Are you guys okay with going back into Stiles’ head?” Deaton asked them. Scott nodded his head vigorously, but Lydia spoke up,

“Actually I think Malia should go in instead of me.” Malia and the rest of the pack turned to the girl in shock.

“But you have done it before, you know what to expect,” Malia argued, “plus you have your whole banshee-ness.”

“Yes but I’m not the one Stiles is in love with.” Lydia made the statement so casually and matter of factly. Malia’s mouth dropped open and she was struck speechless. Luckily she was saved from speaking when Lydia kept talking, “Oh come on, you have to know it’s true, even if you guys haven’t said it to each other yet. He loves you and I know you love him. That is more powerful than any Banshee magic I could conjure. It has to be you, you and Scott are our best chances of bringing him back.” Malia looked around to see a few of the others nodding their heads at Lydia’s words.

“Okay, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes.” Malia made her decision quickly. It really wasn’t hard, she would risk anything for Stiles to be safe again. Poor Stiles who had suffered so much already, all she wanted was for him to be home, healthy and safe.

“Then we are agreed. Melissa, we are going to need to ensure that we are not interrupted.” Deaton was all business.

“I will figure something out.” The woman responded to him.

“When should we do this?” Scott asked

“As soon as possible.” Deaton urged

“I’ll head to the hospital, I’ll let you know when I have something figured out.” Malia watched Melissa leave, a growing anxiety inside of her. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as they could. She just wanted Stiles back.

Then she would focus on figuring out the whole love thing.

*****

“Wow...I didn’t know deer could taste so good.” Malia said, her mouth full of food. Stiles laughed at her adorable enthusiasm. So far he had to say that their date was going really well. Malia had seemed a bit still and unsure of herself at the beginning. Not that he could blame her, the restaurant was pretty fancy and she was still learning societal norms and all that. Normally he wouldn’t have taken her to a place like this since they are both more comfortable in more relaxed atmospheres, but he had wanted to go all out. Luckily for him Malia had grown more at ease as the evening progressed.

“Venison, that’s what we call deer meat. And yes it is particularly good here.” Stiles said taking a bit of his own food.

“Why not just call it deer?”

“I don’t know, the English language is a strange thing. Beef is cow but lamb is lamb.” Stiles laughed again at the scowl on her face. “Hey, don’t take it out of me. I didn’t come up with the names.”

“It’s not that...just how am I supposed to learn all of this? Every time I turn around there is a new rule that I have to learn or relearn. It’s exhausting.”

“Hey, look I know it’s overwhelming” Stiles reached out and took her hand, “But you are doing really well and nobody expects more out of you than you can give. You’ll get the hang of it, I know you will.”

“I’m glad I have you Stiles” She smiled and squeezed his hand. Her hand was warm in his. Stiles was glad to see that her body temperature was finally regulating.

“I’m glad I have you too, now are you ready for dessert? I hear it’s almost as good as their deer meat.”

*****

“Okay, so I managed to get Stiles on my rounds so no one else should interrupt you. I also changed his paperwork to include four scratches on the back of his neck. We are doing it during visiting hours so the large crowd doesn’t attract attention. That being said, please try to keep it as quiet as possible.” His mom instructed them all. The all nodded and exchanged nervous looks. Scott could smell the anxiety coming from each member of his pack. Not that Scott could blame any of them, he was feeling the exact same way right about now.

“Let’s do it,” He said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. The group made their way to Stiles’ room. The sounds of beeping and breathing were all that could be heard when they closed the door.

Scott took a long look at his friend. Stiles was still pale and covered in injuries, but the bruises and cuts were visibly starting to heal. Scott would give anything to be able to give Stiles even a fraction of his healing ability. He watched as Malia walked over to Stiles and took his hand. She winced slightly as black pain entered her veins.

“His vitals are all normal and stable” His mom said softly as she wrote something on her clipboard. “I will be back in a half an hour. I wish I could stay, but someone will notice if I don’t do my rounds.” She gave Scott a pained look.

“It’s okay mom,” He said as she came over to hug him. He held her tightly back, “It’s all going to be okay.” She pulled away from him and nodded. Then she went over and kissed Stiles on the forehead

“See you soon,” She whispered and with one last worried glance at Scott she left the room.

“You ready?” Scott asked, meeting Malia’s eyes. She nodded and took a seat next to Stiles, still holding his hand. Scott walked over and placed his claws lightly on the back of her neck. Deaton gently lifted up Stiles’ head so that Scott could place his claws.

“Remember, find him and bring him back, but be careful what doors you open,” Deaton warned, giving them his usual vague advice.

“Good luck,” Derek said, looking at them with a grim expression.

"You can do this" Lydia assured them, but the break in her voice gave her away. Scott looked around at the worried faces of all of his friends. Suddenly he was frozen as a wave of anxiety washed over him. What if he couldn't do this? What if he and Malia got trapped or somehow made things worse for Stiles?

“Please just bring my son back.” The Sheriff whispered. It was that broken plea that finally spurred Scott into action. With a deep breath, he plunged his claws into the back of Malia and Stiles’ necks.

- N x